Chu, who turns 65 this month, was a leading advocate in the Obama administration for alternative energy development, making him a target of the fossil fuel industry and its conservative supporters in Congress.

Washington (CNN) – The council of economists, executives and labor leaders created to advise President Barack Obama on spurring job creation will officially cease to exist this week, the White House announced Thursday.

The Council on Jobs and Competitiveness was created in January 2011 by executive order, and its charter mandated that it would expire after two years. A White House official said Thursday that the council's charter would not be renewed.FULL POST

(CNN) - President Barack Obama will take his gun violence platform on the road with a stop in Minnesota next week, a White House official told CNN.

The president will meet with locals, area officials and law enforcement in Minneapolis to discuss his proposals, which he laid out two weeks ago after Vice President Joe Biden and other administration officials held a series of meetings with stakeholders at various points on the gun control and rights spectrum.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Evangelical advocates for immigration reform are taking a page from the New Testament, specifically the Book of Matthew.

An organization called the Evangelical Immigration Table has organized 193 churches and ministries in 39 states and the District of Columbia to hold a prayer challenge in support of immigration reform, according to the group. The Table does not endorse a Republican or Democratic immigration reform policy, but simply asks congregants to consider Christian principles as they think about the lives of undocumented immigrants.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - In less than two hours the president will unveil his latest push for immigration reform at an event in Las Vegas. He will call on Congress to move reform quickly, but also reveal new details of his proposal.

In excerpts released by the White House prior to the speech President Obama is expected to say: "The good news is that – for the first time in many years – Republicans and Democrats seem ready to tackle this problem together. Members of both parties, in both chambers, are actively working on a solution. And yesterday, a bi-partisan group of Senators announced their principles for comprehensive immigration reform, which are very much in line with the principles I've proposed and campaigned on for the last few years. At this moment, it looks like there's a genuine desire to get this done soon. And that's very encouraging."FULL POST

Washington (CNN) – Sylvia Mathews Burwell, a leading corporate philanthropist and former member of the Clinton administration, is the top pick to run the Office of Management and Budget, two Democrats said Friday.

Burwell served as the deputy director of the OMB during Clinton's presidency, and also acted as chief of staff to then-Treasury Secretary Robert Rubin. Former OMB Director Jack Lew also served under Rubin. Peter Orszag, a fellow former OMB director, ran a think tank founded by Rubin.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - The White House sent supporters talking points on the Senate-passed fiscal cliff deal which tout the middle class tax rate extension, the "balance" of spending cuts and tax increases, temporary suspension of the sequester, and other successes for the Obama administration.

The full topline talking points, obtained by CNN, are below the jump.FULL POST

Washington (CNN) - Fiscal cliff negotiations between the White House and Congressional leaders involved late-night discussions in the Oval Office and an ultimate hardline from President Barack Obama, according to a source familiar with the process.

President Obama wanted a delay to the massive spending cuts known as the "sequester," but Republicans requested the final deal to include measures to offset what delaying those budget cuts would add to the deficit.

Newtown, Connecticut (CNN) - President Barack Obama turned the nation's attention to America's children Sunday night when he addressed families in Newtown, Connecticut, the site of last week's fatal school shooting.

"This is our first task, caring for our children. Our first job. If we don't get that right, we don't get anything right. That's how, as a society, we will be judged," Obama said. "Can we honestly say that we're doing enough to keep our children, all of them, safe from harm? ... I've been reflecting on this the last few days, and if we're honest with ourselves, the answer's no. We're not doing enough. And we will have to change."FULL POST